What are the common pitfalls and challenges of launching a new product and how do you overcome them?

One thing I have found helpful when launching a new product is truly understanding the target market. In my experience, many businesses focus heavily on product features and less on the specific needs and pain points of their audience. In 2022, I was involved in a product launch that struggled because we hadn’t clearly defined our target market. We assumed our product would appeal to a broad audience, but without a sharp focus, our marketing messages felt scattered and failed to connect. What I’ve learned over the years is that thoroughly researching and segmenting your audience is critical. This means not only identifying demographics but also digging into psychographics—the motivations, values, and challenges your customers face.

This is what I learnt from my teacher "Person who chases 2 rabbits catches neither". For an idea or technology, go through the market segmentation process (brainstorming, narrowing and primary market research). This is where you put your idea to test by conducting extensive Primary Market Research to determine whether such a customer pain exists from the idea. This is long drawn process but choose a time frame that is acceptable to your situation. Market segmentation matrix is a long list. But to mention a few - Segment name, end user (it's the actual product user and may not be the payor or champion in B2B case), task (what would this end user do that he/she couldn't do before), urgency of the need, .......

Some ways to get started for a business-to-business product: - Define the Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) which is a combination of target company and a target buyer title. eg. Network Administrator at a 500-people Food & Beverage company in South America. - Make an assessment of how many such companies exist. 50? 500? 50K? You just established a target market along with the size.

In my B2B tech experience there needs to be a "-1" step--that is, identify the market need itself. This is not a trivial effort: sometimes seeing a gap in a market can be a false positive--there may be a price point, complexity or need that is met already, and while you may have some terrific new features or UVP, that may not be enough to get people to move from where they are to where you want to bring them. It's also very difficult to define a new category (even from just a marketing perspective) without a lot of time, money and a bit of luck. You can confuse your targets about what you do, they may skip over you because you aren't called the same thing as your competitors, or the market lumps you back into the current category anyway.

In simple terms, it means finding and addressing a highly painful problem ensures that you provide real value to customers, preferably in a market which has significant demand.

A clareza na proposta de valor é fundamental para capturar a atenção do cliente e conquistar seu interesse. No entanto, em vez de simplesmente apresentar uma declaração sobre o produto, eu incentivo a criar uma narrativa envolvente que ressoe com as emoções e aspirações do seu mercado-alvo. Pergunte-se: "Como esse produto se alinha com a visão de mundo do meu cliente?" e "Quais histórias posso contar para ilustrar o impacto positivo que ele pode ter?". Uma proposta de valor efetiva não só comunica as vantagens funcionais, mas também cria uma conexão emocional com o cliente.

Segmentable offers a unique way to craft a value proposition. We start by delving into consumer segments and their specific needs. Then we identify the features that meet these needs and examine how each competitor addresses them. Through this competitive analysis, we evaluate the features of our client's product and how they serve various audiences. This process allows us to identify which features competitors offer and which of our client's features provide a competitive edge for different audiences. By understanding both our client's needs and our strengths, we create a compelling value proposition.

Having a clear and concise value prop helps your brand be chosen against competition. Value prop statement can be used 1) on your website to convert potential customers 2) when pitching to investors 3) let's anyone from the company answer a question " So what does your company do?" I like this one from Warby Parker, “Buying eyewear should leave you happy and good-looking, with money in your pocket. Glasses, sunglasses, and contacts—we’ve got your eyes covered.”

Crafting a compelling value proposition is essential prior to product launch, as neglecting to do so can result in confusion among potential customers, undermine credibility, and impede effective communication of your product's value; a clear, concise, and relevant value proposition, summarizing how your product solves a problem, delivers benefits, and differentiates from alternatives, is imperative to capture your unique selling point and resonate with your target audience.

To develop a great value proposition, you must first define the following five components: 1) Identify your Radical Buyer - the buyer who shares your worldview. 2) Solution category - products and services are organized into categories. It is best not to over-position here or make up a new category. 3) Value - what does your product or service deliver to your audience? How do you help solve their challenge? 4) Competition - rarely a named competitor, more of a state of mind or a status quo. 5) Choice Factor - It typically comes down to one primary differentiator for why a person chooses your product over others. Be sure to know what that choice factor is. Once you know these five variables, develop a message in your brand voice.

O feedback do cliente é uma mina de ouro que não deve ser subestimada. Mais do que apenas coletar informações sobre o desempenho do produto, pense em criar um canal de diálogo contínuo com os clientes para manter uma visão atualizada de suas necessidades e expectativas. É interessante integrar feedback diretamente no processo de desenvolvimento, promovendo uma cultura de melhoria contínua. Além disso, considere usar análises avançadas para identificar padrões e tendências emergentes no feedback, permitindo ajustes proativos na estratégia do produto.

Be prepared for negative feedback and learn to deal with it, it is a gift. Negative feedback can be disheartening, but founders must learn from it and use it as an opportunity for improvement. To maintain a customer-centric approach, it is crucial to avoid becoming overly infatuated with your technology and instead consistently adopt the perspective of your customers.

Product testing needs to go through 3 scenarios - Alpha users, Beta users and finally production release to general population. Identify carefully who your alpha users. These are the ones who early adopters (in B2B, 3 to 5 key friendly customers) who will provide honest feedback and willing to pay for the product. Define clear timeline and turn around expectations. Ensure you have dedicated resources during this phase to fix all the issues. For Beta, it's a larger pool of similar customers. Here the goals, timelines and expectation could be different than previous phase. Finally, production release is a fully tested product that has passed internal regressions meeting all the defined product objectives with no known critical bugs.

Another critical aspect to address is launching a product without undergoing testing and gathering feedback, as solely relying on personal assumptions or opinions can prove detrimental; it's imperative to subject the product to real user testing, measure its performance, and solicit feedback to pinpoint and rectify any bugs, errors, or issues that may impact its quality, usability, or functionality, while also gaining insight into customer preferences, dislikes, and desires, thus enabling iterative improvements based on collected data and feedback.

Uma estratégia de lançamento eficaz não é apenas um roteiro, mas um plano vivo que deve ser adaptável conforme a resposta do mercado e o progresso do produto. Ao planejar, é interessante considerar uma abordagem escalonada para o lançamento, testando em mercados menores ou segmentos específicos antes de escalar amplamente. Isso permite ajustes ágeis na estratégia e minimiza riscos. É crucial nao esquecer de aproveitar parcerias estratégicas para ampliar o alcance do lançamento e envolver influenciadores do setor para fortalecer a credibilidade e a visibilidade.

Leverage an inside-out approach to launching new products. 1) Start with the inner most audience, often your employees, to ensure they understand the magnitude of the new product and the value prop to the market. 2) Launch to your customers. Never let your customers find out about a new product at the same time as everyone else. Give them early access, discount access, and champions for the new product. 3) Finally, its time to launch your new product to the market. There are countless ways to do this well, the key is having a strategy that maps to your business goals. Events are a great place to launch a product and make a splash. An integrated digital campaign could be another. If your product is newsworthy, a PR campaign could be good.

While having a well-planned launch strategy is important, it's equally important to avoid the one-size-fits-all approach in your go-live plan. Every product should have a unique selling proposition and engage the interest of its intended audience. To avoid a mis-launch, as well as wasted resources on tactics that are ineffective, it's crucial to use consider the right vs. a peanut butter approach to your marketing mix. Understand the digital platforms' algorithms and create content that helps optimize your messages. Also, consistently consider new innovative techniques you can apply to best practices, keep up with current audience trends, and utilize interactive, personalized content.

Developing a well-thought-out launch strategy is crucial to avoid the pitfalls of launching a product without one, as it serves as a comprehensive roadmap detailing the introduction, promotion, and distribution of your product to the target market, encompassing launch goals, timelines, budgets, channels, tactics, and metrics; failing to plan or executing a subpar launch strategy can lead to squandered resources, overlooked opportunities, or limited awareness and adoption, emphasizing the necessity to meticulously craft and execute your launch strategy.

Measurable results are an essential component of a successful product launch, but they are only valuable if they are translated into actionable next steps. Once you have tracked and analyzed your launch metrics, it's important to use that information to make informed decisions about pivoting marketing efforts. For example, if your retention rate is low, you may need to reevaluate your product, positioning/messaging, and make changes to improve its value proposition. If your conversion rate is low, you may need to adjust your messaging or marketing channels to better reach your target audience. If your revenue is lower than expected, you may need to explore new revenue streams or adjust your pricing strategy.

A critical aspect often overlooked is launching a product without diligently tracking and optimizing results, as success hinges on measuring impact, outcomes, and feedback; monitoring launch metrics such as traffic, conversions, retention, revenue, satisfaction, and referrals is imperative to assess performance, identify strengths and weaknesses, and refine product and marketing efforts, underscoring the importance of continuous monitoring and improvement to maximize success in navigating the complexities of launching a new product.

Routes-to-Market Strategy Do you have a plan to ensure your chosen routes to market will succeed? This is where many launches fail. Direct sales, online sales, channel sales, single/multi-tier distribution, etc. all require distinctly different strategies and detailed operating models...but these 5 steps apply to each: 1. Demand Generation - how will your target customers know about your product or service? 2. Pre-sale Support - How will your target customers know how this product/service will work in their unique environment situation? 3. Transaction / Close the deal - How will the deal with the customer transact? 4. Fulfillment - How will the product/service be delivered? 5. Post sale support - Customer Satisfaction is everything

Consider using AI in your lead-gen strategy by identifying customer behavior patterns which indicate a potential interest in a product or service, using predictive modeling to target individuals who are most likely to make a purchase or engage with a brand, and creating targeted, personalized messaging. Additionally, AI-powered chatbots can interact with potential customers, answer their questions, and guide them through the sales funnel, providing a seamless and personalized experience.

A Tier-1 product launch involves a cross-functional team from all GTM functions: Marketing, Sales, Product Management, Customer Success. Ideally, a dedicated Program/Project Manager orchestrates the launch, but often those responsibilities fall on Product Marketing. Mature organizations have a formal Market Requirements Document (MRD), authored by a Product Manager, that spells out target market size, customer profile, competitive landscape, revenue/profit projections, product features and benefits, business and technical requirements, assumptions and risks. An MRD is critical for Marketing to update the website, develop Demand gen programs, PR/AR initiatives, sales enablement materials (sales decks, demo videos, datasheets, FAQs, scripts)